Our current focus is on polymeric materials with reversible crosslinks. Most biopolymers fall in this category, and we use the mechanisms that biological matter uses to adapt its structure as inspiration for novel synthetic “smart” materials.
Current topics include hydrogel formation, vitrimer dynamics and toughening/dissipation mechanisms of gels.
Students and postdocs involved: Nick Tito (PD), Chiara Raffaelli (PhD), Simone Ciarella (PhD), Ruben Boot (BSc).